1904-1905-] Work in a Canadian Orchard. 187 



of gelatine, and they have a very peculiar flavour, and are, iu 

 my opinion, not worth eating. It also seemed strange to me 

 to see the people eating boiled heads (cobs) of Indian corn or 

 maize. The cobs are held in the hand and buttered, then 

 sucked and bitten at. 



When I arrived at Burlington, near Hamilton, I was shown 

 a large field of tomatoes of 4 acres where the crop was 

 simply enormous. It was estimated that this field would 

 produce 1000 bushels. I now saw and closely inspected an 

 orchard in which were splendid crops of apples, pears, and 

 peaches quite beyond anything I had ever expected to see, 

 — confirming me in my impression that this is a most won- 

 derful country. The severe winter of 1903 had, however, 

 left traces of its effects, for there were many peach trees quite 

 dead. One of the things that struck me much was the 

 continuous chirping of the innumerable crickets everywhere 

 present. The Burlington Canning Factory employs 200 

 hands : they can various fruits in season. At the time I 

 was there they were putting up tomatoes, which were pouring 

 in on them from all the growers around. I counted 4000 

 bushels of this fruit standing in their yard, where an Indian 

 was emptying box after box on a revolving apparatus like 

 a steamer's paddle-wheel, which conveyed the fruit into the 

 works through a tank, where they were scalded ; and this 

 went on day and night. Apple-packing is done by all the 

 farmers' families, and is pretty hard but pleasant and health- 

 ful work, and I am bound to say that a fruit-grower's life is 

 a most delightful one. They are well off, and live in stylish 

 houses, but they work like labouring people in the fields. 

 Other fruits and vegetables are abundant, such as egg-fruit, 

 melons, pumpkins, and squashes. The climate at this time of 

 year is very variable, the temperature sometimes as low as 

 26° F., and again as high as 74° F. On the 10th October we 

 experienced a severe thunderstorm, with a brilliant display of 

 lightning. 



The cultivation of the apple-tree is one to which the Can- 

 adian Government has given much attention, and it has 

 established several experimental farms throughout the do- 

 minion. The Central Experimental Farm is at Ottawa, and 

 the apple — the fruit which is by far the most useful and 



